Spidey and the Iron Girl: Vol. 1

#10: Lost and Found

Peter had only practiced with the flight capabilities of his Spider-suit a few times, but he still insisted he was coming with after he told Tony where his daughter might be.

You know he pulled me out of school after the Snap?

Collin's voice rang in his head, like a ping pong ball bouncing back and forth against the inside of his skull. It felt so loud it almost drowned out the high speed winds that rushed past as he and Iron Man raced through the night sky.

I had a normal life... Friends... Classes at one of the best schools in the country...

Hearing Tony talk about Collin like a helpless little girl after she'd gone missing had really snapped all of this into perspective for Peter. He'd been at a loss as to where she could have possibly gone-- he'd only met her a week ago, after all, how could he know more about her than her own father? But then it clicked and he realized there was really only one place Collin would want to go. The sun was just rising as they flew over Boston and made a sharp turn north towards Andover, the GPS guiding them automatically.

I'd missed this...

With the early morning sun washing over the Andover Preparatory School, limning every brick building in golden light, he could see why she'd missed it. It looked like something out of the English countryside, a bubble where time stood still, like the Snap had never even happened.

"I hope you're right about this," Tony's voice was tight with worry as they descended for a landing.

"Me, too," Peter replied quietly. "Mr. Stark... I really can't tell you how sorry I am that this happened..."

"Peter, I was too hard on you earlier," Tony told him. "Even if you're wrong about Collin being here... None of this is your fault, okay? This was my fuck up for letting her leave the compound in the first place."

Peter frowned, grateful that the suit covered his face as they touched down. He was glad that Mr. Stark wasn't angry with him anymore but... Was that really what Tony was taking from this experience? That Collin shouldn't have been let out in the first place?

If they had been expecting to arrive unnoticed, that quickly flew out the window. It turns out that two metal men landing in the middle of a field at dawn are bound to be noticed and they were quickly approached by a security guard in a golf cart.

"Excuse me, you can't land your-- whatever those are-- here! This is private property and I'm going to have to ask you to-- Oh, shit, Iron Man? And Spider-man?" The guard's mouth dropped open as Tony's face mask opened up. Peter waved awkwardly, remaining safely behind his mask.

"Yeah, hey," Tony stepped out of the suit, the metal confines folding into itself in spectacularly dramatic fashion. "I know this is all very sudden, but we're going to need the keys to every door in this place."

The security guard, awestruck as he was, barely protested before leading them through the campus, his ring of keys jangling as they tried dorm after dorm.

"Where the hell could she be?" Tony grew more and more agitated.

"Hold up, Mr. Stark," Peter looked out the window of the dorm hall towards a building that looked like it had a ventilation duct sticking out of the top. He waved the security guard over and pointed. "Gary, is there any kind of chemical laboratory in that building?"

"Oh, yeah, that's where they hold all the senior science classes."

"Could I get the key for that?" Peter turned to him.

"Uh, sure, but you have to give it back--," Gary warily unhooked a key from his ring.

"Thanks!" Peter took off running with Mr. Stark, leaving Gary in a cloud of dust.

"I, uh, I'll just catch up to you guys... I guess..." Gary rubbed at the back of his neck watching the two super heroes disappear around a corner.

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Peter wasn't sure how he expected Mr. Stark to react when he finally found Collin. Well, that wasn't necessarily true-- he certainly had expectations, like lots and lots of yelling. But when they found Collin curled up on top of her luggage next to the chem lab's ventilation hood, Tony didn't say anything. He just dropped down to his knees and gently pushed his daughter's hair out of her face. Her eyes fluttered open.

"Dad?" Collin said hoarsely.

"Hey, Peanut," Tony's voice was soft.

She sat up slowly, already looking wary, but before she could say anything else Tony pulled her into a tight hug. Peter saw how his eyes squeezed shut, the corners wet as he hugged his daughter. Collin froze for a moment before crumpling into the embrace, burying her face in his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," She whispered.

"You scared me so much," He spoke into her hair, his voice breaking. Peter was shocked and couldn't help but stare at their two kneeling figures. The expression on Tony's face and the way he held Collin to him... It was like he was trying to hold sand, intent on keeping it from slipping through his fingers. It broke his heart.

"I know," Collin also sounded on the verge of tears.

Tony pulled back holding her at arm's length, inspecting her face worriedly.

"Are you hurt?" He asked.

"No, Dad," Collin sighed, her eyes falling. Tony nodded and stood, holding out a hand to her. She took it, looking surprised. "I... I thought you were going to be pissed with me...?"

"Oh, I am," Tony's voice was still soft, but sharp now like he was controlling himself. "You and I are going to have a very long conversation when we get back to the compound... with your mother."
Collin's blue eyes widened.

"She's back from Europe? But I thought--?"

"She's not back yet, though she's cutting her trip short because of you," Tony informed her, grabbing her luggage and tossing it to Peter. "We'll be FaceTiming with her, but I think it's about time she found out about your recent behavior--."

He reached for Collin's hand to pull her along as they left the classroom, but Collin pulled back from him.

"Collin..." Tony said warningly. "You're already in deep shit..."

"I don't need you to hold my hand," Collin said coldly, pushing past him to walk up to Peter and yank her bag out of his hands. "And I definitely don't need him to carry my shit for me."

"Collin, I'm sorry--," He started to apologize. He didn't know what he was apologizing for specifically. Maybe for what he'd said last night. But a part of him felt like he was apologizing because he knew Tony wouldn't. Regardless, Collin was unmoved.

"Save it," She mumbled before marching out of the chem lab.